Vidcon: Introducing VR to the Next Generation of Creators

Over 25,000 attendees flocked to Anaheim last week for VidCon, the three-day annual gathering of video creators and their screaming fans. Now going on its 7th year, VidCon is quickly replacing SXSW as the place to be for brands launching a social platform or digital video product, especially if youâ€™re targeting a younger generation.

Just to name a few, household brands like Instagram, YouTube and Netflix were in attendance. Platforms you may have never heard of like YouNow and Musical.ly were also there vying for the attention of young creators. If you havenâ€™t heard of Musical.ly â€” you will soon. Theyâ€™ve been on a tear lately, amassing a global audience approaching 100 million mostly teenage users in less than one year. No big deal.

So while all these brands were competing to stay top of mind among teenagers who, letâ€™s be real, often seemed more concerned about taking selfies with famous YouTube creators, there was one secret winner in our eyes at VidCon – virtual reality.

Although not immediately apparent among all the attention grabbing booths with live interviews and swag giveaways, there were multiple brand activations introducing VR to an entirely new generation of creators.

As you would expect, Samsung and their mobile Gear VR headset was the most prominent on the conference floor, with long lines of teenagers waiting to experience VR for the first time. And since this was VidCon, 360-degree video cameras were prevalent, with Ricoh and Samsung both showing off the future of immersive video.

Then there were the industry panels, starting off with Barry Pousman from Variable LabsÂ discussing how to create compelling narrative for VR.Â Pousman was aÂ producer of â€śClouds Over Sidra,â€ť the VR documentary that brought viewers inside a Syrian Refugee Camp. He is now working to create VR video content for X-Prize and is continuing his work with the UN.

Brandon Laatsch (co-creator of StressLevelZero, Node, and the freddiew channel) hosted an hour long Q&A session, answering questions from attendees aboutÂ VR content creation, howÂ hardware and content is evolving, and the struggles creators will faceÂ in monetizing 360-degree video.

Then there wereÂ the parties, spending most of the time at Samsung’s Gear 360 premiere event offsite at the Anabella Hotel.Â Casey Neistat took the stage to spotlight 10 creators from YouTube who shotÂ their own short films using the 360-degree camera.

After an introduction to the creators, you could then screen theÂ creator’s content on Gear VR headsets that were being passed around toÂ attendees at the private event.

The Gear 360 was the main focus of the event, with this beingÂ the first timeÂ creators in the United States could get their hands on the camera and purchase it.Â The Gear 360 wasÂ priced at $349.99 and wasÂ available for purchase on a limited basis only during VidCon.

In a way, kicking off theÂ U.S launch ofÂ the Gear 360 at VidCon and getting the camera into the hands of some of the most influential content creators in the world, is a smart strategic play on Samsung’s part and will probably make the Gear 360Â one of the more popular cameras when it becomes more widely available on theÂ market. By seeding production of VR content with creators first,Â consumers will get a taste of what can actually be shot with the Gear 360 and also at the same time ensureÂ high fidelity footageÂ out of the gate.

Samsung is alsoÂ eager to motivate VR creators and foster new projects, announcing that in July the company will launch the Samsung CreatorsÂ program. TheÂ program will include a series of seminars and classes, putting VR capabilities in the hands of filmmakers and influencers to further accelerating this new immersive medium. They will also host a competition, which will pick one winner from 10 different categories toÂ receive a cash prize of $10,000, a ticket to the Creators Awards ceremony in New York including two round-trip flights, and a masterclass with VR filmmaking pros.

In comparison to last year’s VidCon, VRÂ was widely present. Whether or not young creators who tried VR for the first time and thought it was “cool” will pursue content creation of their own – we’ll just have to wait and see. ButÂ asÂ I walked around with a Gear 360 on a monopod and teenagers stopped to ask ifÂ that wasÂ “Casey Neistat’s camera,” I couldn’t help but smile. This all feels differentÂ and I think its what we callÂ progress.